The textbook defines virtual teams on page 241 as, "groups of people who work together across time and space," mentioning that there are still kinks to be worked out in virtual team engagement such as (page 242) "language barriers and differences in cultures, religions, work customs and work habits."
The last company that I worked for had a headquarters in San Diego and several branches throughout the US as well as a branch overseas where the executive members were located. These executive members were the main stakeholders in the company and the top tier of the company hierarchy. Any requests that came from these stakeholders was top priority and it didn't matter the time of day or the time constraint with which the projects were to be delivered, their requests HAD to be completed above all others. Due to the time differences, team members who had company blackberries received emails at all hours of the day and sometimes had to work late into the night to complete deliverables for a time zone that was twelve hours ahead. This wasn't always the case but you can imagine the stress having to put together something today that was due yesterday, literally.
Education-wise, I have found that virtual learning suits me much better than a physical type classroom setting. I love having the flexibility of being able to learn in the comfort of my own home and find that virtual classrooms don't have the distractions I might face in brick and mortar classrooms. Since the groups that I interact with our professors and other students, I find that any barriers in cultures or religions are not an issue, although language barriers might ensue for students who are not native English speakers. Different work habits and customs are handled by each student individually so that they are able to learn at their own pace and still complete assignments in a timely manner. The only complaint I have with being a distance education student is my discomfort in not being able to interact with school staff face-to-face when it comes to my resolving any issues I have with my paperwork or account.
3 months ago
The technology we have today is amazing isn’t it? People can communicate any time of day, wherever and whenever they want, and receive/respond immediately. Your work does seem stressful and I don’t think I can even imaging getting a request for something today that was due yesterday, I think I would freak out. However, I have to say I prefer actual classroom learning. This is my first online class and let me tell you I have been at SJSU for a while and never once taken an online class. It is way harder than my other classes! I personally enjoy physically having to go to class – I need to be forced to learn and by going to class I can do that but being able to take my own time – I find that I end up taking TOO much time, then I get rushed. This truly shows how different people are.
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